Monday looms as a possible key turning point in the ongoing saga of the Minnesota nurses strike.
That’s the day the Minnesota Nurses Association has scheduled a vote on what could become an open-ended strike by about 12,800 of the union’s members who are locked in a dispute with 14 Twin Cities-area hospitals over wages and staffing levels.
Talks between the two sides have broken down with no negotiations currently scheduled, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. Further, a one-day strike last week that forced the hospitals to spend millions to pay and fly in 2,800 replacement nurses appears to have only cemented each side’s position. The hospitals and union began discussing the terms of a new contract in March.
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Under union rules, 66 percent of voting nurses would have to approve a strike. While that may seem like a high hurdle, 90 percent voted in favor of the one-day strike. If a longer strike happens, it likely wouldn’t occur until after July 4, the union has said. The union would be required to give the hospitals 10 days notice of a strike.
In scheduling a vote, it’s likely the union leadership is confident it can hit the 66 percent target, said Larry Garrett, a partner with law firm Schiff Hadin LLP in San Francisco who has represented hospitals in several contract fights with Bay Area nurses. If the vote fails, “it puts them between a rock and a hard place” because the nurses’ union would be forced to return to the bargaining table in a weaker position, he said.
Upon hearing of the plans for a strike vote, the hospitals questioned the union’s priorities.
“For the union to put forth a vote to strike indicates the union is not interested in negotiations but in conflict,” a spokeswoman for the hospitals told the Star-Tribune. “The hospitals see this as clearly driven by a national nurses union with an aggressive strategy.”
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The last sentence was a reference to National Nurses United, of which the Minnesota Nurses Association is a member. The national group formed in late 2009 and has 155,000 members.
Perhaps the most contentious issue between the two sides is staffing levels. The union says a strict patient-to-nurse ratio will protect patient safety. Hospitals argue tough economic times requires flexibility in staffing schedules. Specifically, the union wants a ratio of one registered nurse to four patients in medical and surgical units, and one RN to two patients in critical-care units.
And, like nearly all strikes, pay is a central issue. The union seeks annual raises between 3.5 percent and 4 percent on a three-year contract, while the hospitals counter with raises of 0 percent, 1 percent and 2 percent.
Photo from flickr user Roger Blackwell